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Rob Kardashian Diagnosed With Diabetes

Understanding Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes

Last Tuesday, my Facebook feed flooded with news that Rob Kardashian was diagnosed with Diabetes and admitted to the hospital. Initially, I thought there was a slight chance that it was Type 1 Diabetes – being that he was in the hospital. I read on to discovered that he was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, which makes more sense considering reports about his recent weight gain.

I don’t follow the Kardashians, nor watch their TV show, but I still feel for anyone diagnosed with Diabetes. We all have to count our carbs, check our blood sugar levels, and take medication to regulate our glucose levels.

However, when this news hit about Rob, my heart sank a little. For myself, most of the battle with Type 1 is explaining to people the differences between Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes. Sometimes, I feel like I’m just defending myself – and the fact that prior to my diagnosis, I led a healthy lifestyle. I’ve heard every response… “You should just try eating healthy” or “I’m juicing. It’s supposed to prevent Diabetes” or “My Grandma has Diabetes too” or “But, you’re not overweight?” And now, with this latest news about Rob Kardashian’s weight gain and Diabetes diagnosis, my struggle continues to educate people about this differences between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes.

Below are a few key points about Type 1 Diabetes, in comparison to Type 2 Diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone people need to get energy from food. Its onset has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle.

Symptoms of Type 1 are unintended weight loss, in comparison to weight gain with Type 2. Other common symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes include increased thirst, extreme hunger, irritability and other mood changes, fatigue and weakness, and blurred vision.

The treatment of Type 1 Diabetes includes insulin injections – either through shots, a pump, or inhaled insulin – while Type 2 Diabetics usually take an oral pill.

The popularity of Type 2 Diabetes is much higher than Type 1. In 2012, 29 million Americans – or 9% of the population – have Diabetes. Of that, only 1 million of those Americans are Type 1 Diabetics.

Type 2 Diabetes can be primarily controlled with diet and exercise. For Type 1 Diabetics, like myself, we must take insulin injections in order to prevent uncontrollable glucose levels.

Type 1 Diabetes is often called Juvenile Diabetes, because most of the time, it’s diagnosed during childhood.